Sometimes, reading other people's accounts of their medical ordeals makes me feel better about my own. Call it schadenfreude if you will, but it isn't like I want them to have a bad experience, rather, I fell like I am not alone in my own bad experiences.
My family has had its share of medical nightmares and terrible experiences with physicians. Sometimes, even under the best circumstances things go wrong. My brother was misdiagnosed when he had a torn knee ligament and wound up destroying his meniscus. He opted to have an experimental surgery to replace the meniscus using a donor one. To make a long story short, an internal staph infection took over and cost my brother more tissue and his knee is now worse off than it had been.
When I read this story in the Washington Post, I couldn't help but think of my brother's issues and his continuing journey. There have been many experiences that have taught me to be an informed patient and, much like this man, I read medical literature to learn as much as possible and stay current with what is happening. I want to have more understanding of my doctor so that we can work together on a treatment plan. This seems only reasonable to me. I think more patients would experience better outcomes if they became more invested in their care.
The author also puts forward some interesting statistics and some ideas for implementing changes in the field of patient safety. I wholeheartedly agree that it is absurd that one can get more information on a $30,000 car than they can on open heart surgery. It is wrong and definitely something I hope changes in my lifetime. What if doctors got outcomes ratings like the health department gives to restaurants. Would that C+ rating make the doctors work harder and make patients think twice? I don't know, but I can't help but think it would increase the accountability. Implementation would be a difficult proposition, though, and I can't say I know what would be best for the measures. I'm sure the AMA and other physicians boards can come up with something... I would really like to see that happen. A girl can dream...
Friday, August 31, 2012
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Issues Voting
I don't necessarily want this blog to be a political one, but my readers should know how important access to health care is to me on a personal level. I really think it is a human right, and it makes me so sad to see people not be able to have access to the same medical care that I have simply because they were not born in the right situation. I've been extremely fortunate and I know many aren't as lucky as I have been.
As a teenager looking forward to voting for the first time, I never thought I would be a single-issue voter. As a chronically ill person, I find there is no more critical choice I can make. I also find it silly when other chronically ill people or parents of chronically ill children don't see how important it is to actually understand the issues and how important their votes can be to making sure they continue to have access to adequate medical care.
The current GOP platform with regards to health care is pretty straightforward. Turn everyone to the private insurance industry. Reading between the lines, it also reveals a complete lack of concern for the poor, the disabled, those who do not have personal agency. The current plans would curtail Medicaid, which has been a critical help to parents of sick children. It would make sure that single adults like me would just be totally screwed if they couldn't work. It's not fair. It's not right. But somehow, reducing costs by cutting people out of the health care system seems to make sense to these folks. Whatever happened to compassion?
These people seem to think that charities will spring up to help these people. If that was the case, how come there are so many preventable deaths in this country? The lack of access to health care is not something that most people can even begin to comprehend. If they do, they think it only happens in the third world, not here. There are actually very few options for getting help with insurance, copays, deductibles, etc. Somehow, though, this is supposed to magically materialize once the funding is cut. Many of those with power in the GOP party are very wealthy. I don't see a Romney hospital for the poor, despite the fact that he could certainly afford it.
It irks me to no end that these people claim to have America's best interests at heart, but they can't find it in themselves to care for the "least of these" by providing simple access to health care.
As a teenager looking forward to voting for the first time, I never thought I would be a single-issue voter. As a chronically ill person, I find there is no more critical choice I can make. I also find it silly when other chronically ill people or parents of chronically ill children don't see how important it is to actually understand the issues and how important their votes can be to making sure they continue to have access to adequate medical care.
The current GOP platform with regards to health care is pretty straightforward. Turn everyone to the private insurance industry. Reading between the lines, it also reveals a complete lack of concern for the poor, the disabled, those who do not have personal agency. The current plans would curtail Medicaid, which has been a critical help to parents of sick children. It would make sure that single adults like me would just be totally screwed if they couldn't work. It's not fair. It's not right. But somehow, reducing costs by cutting people out of the health care system seems to make sense to these folks. Whatever happened to compassion?
These people seem to think that charities will spring up to help these people. If that was the case, how come there are so many preventable deaths in this country? The lack of access to health care is not something that most people can even begin to comprehend. If they do, they think it only happens in the third world, not here. There are actually very few options for getting help with insurance, copays, deductibles, etc. Somehow, though, this is supposed to magically materialize once the funding is cut. Many of those with power in the GOP party are very wealthy. I don't see a Romney hospital for the poor, despite the fact that he could certainly afford it.
It irks me to no end that these people claim to have America's best interests at heart, but they can't find it in themselves to care for the "least of these" by providing simple access to health care.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Blaming the Fathers
There have been tons of interesting developments in the medical world recently, and several that strike me as important.
First among these is a new study that suggests the future of the human genome is in peril because of the increase in the average age of fathers. After generations of blaming developmental delays on some shortcoming in the mothers, it turns out that it very well could be the father's old sperm that could be to blame.
I find this to be both exciting and frightening at the same time. It speaks to the increase in many genetic issues, including autism and developmental delays, but it also speaks to just how wrong the medical community can be when they lack fundamental understanding.
The New Yorker has a great article about this phenomenon and the possible outcomes here. Definitely very interesting.
First among these is a new study that suggests the future of the human genome is in peril because of the increase in the average age of fathers. After generations of blaming developmental delays on some shortcoming in the mothers, it turns out that it very well could be the father's old sperm that could be to blame.
I find this to be both exciting and frightening at the same time. It speaks to the increase in many genetic issues, including autism and developmental delays, but it also speaks to just how wrong the medical community can be when they lack fundamental understanding.
The New Yorker has a great article about this phenomenon and the possible outcomes here. Definitely very interesting.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Manageable...
I have a feeling that now that I'm actually typing this out, I won't feel this way anymore, but here goes...
I feel very much like I've reached a point of manageability with my medical stuff. I feel stable for the first time in a long, long time. I still get fatigued, I still have pain issues on occasion, but generally I really do feel like I could feel this way for the rest of my life and be fortunate.
I guess coming back from vacation will do that, along with a long stint without antibiotics. This is almost what normal people feel like. It's a good thing.
My feelings of guilt are hard to manage sometimes, though. I have friends who are struggling with this stuff and can't seem to get a firm grip on anything... on treatment plans, on doctors, on which medications to take... It's so complex and it's hard to see friends go through such struggles, especially when I feel pretty good more often than I don't. It's something I often deal with, but I know they don't begrudge my happiness and well-being, so I should respect that and try not to feel guilty. Work in progress, obviously.
Don't get me wrong here, I'm glad to feel good. I'm even more glad that this has given me the opportunity to kind of spread my wings and seek out a new primary doctor. My first visit was great. I should be getting some blood work results this week, so hopefully no surprises there. It's kind of nice to go in for an annual physical and have no real problems to discuss. I'm sure that will change, but for now, I am doing my best to enjoy it.
I feel very much like I've reached a point of manageability with my medical stuff. I feel stable for the first time in a long, long time. I still get fatigued, I still have pain issues on occasion, but generally I really do feel like I could feel this way for the rest of my life and be fortunate.
I guess coming back from vacation will do that, along with a long stint without antibiotics. This is almost what normal people feel like. It's a good thing.
My feelings of guilt are hard to manage sometimes, though. I have friends who are struggling with this stuff and can't seem to get a firm grip on anything... on treatment plans, on doctors, on which medications to take... It's so complex and it's hard to see friends go through such struggles, especially when I feel pretty good more often than I don't. It's something I often deal with, but I know they don't begrudge my happiness and well-being, so I should respect that and try not to feel guilty. Work in progress, obviously.
Don't get me wrong here, I'm glad to feel good. I'm even more glad that this has given me the opportunity to kind of spread my wings and seek out a new primary doctor. My first visit was great. I should be getting some blood work results this week, so hopefully no surprises there. It's kind of nice to go in for an annual physical and have no real problems to discuss. I'm sure that will change, but for now, I am doing my best to enjoy it.
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